Month: August 2016

For the first time in 3 years I will not walk into a classroom and welcome a new group of students. Out of habit I saved all sorts of classroom organizers and first week of school activities on Pinterest. Then it hit me…I am a stay-at-home mom (also known as a domestic engineer). POW!

ID from my first year teaching.

I have traded the often dreaded BBC (bulletin board configuration for my non teacher friends) for a updated whiteboard calendar with family activities and weekly meal plans.

I have traded trips to the teacher store with trips to Once Upon a Child and Babies “R” Us.

I have traded planning field trips for weekly trips to the library and visiting the MO Botanical Gardens, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Forest Park, and more.

I have traded beloved third grade novels such as Charlotte’s Web and the I Survived series for First 100 Words and a slew of board books.

I have traded The Daily Five for sensory bags and tummy time.

Enjoying sensory bags at playtime.

I have traded lesson plans and professional development for…..wait. I haven’t traded these. My lesson plans are the learning opportunities I create for my son. My professional development comes from the Bible, parenting books, support groups, my mommy friends, and countless conversations with my mother.

My classroom hasn’t disappeared; it has shifted. I am still a teacher. I am my child’s first teacher, his mother. I wouldn’t trade this job for anything.

Check out the link below if you are interested in creating these fun bags for your little explorer.

One of my sorority sisters is coming over in about an hour and I am going to resist the urge to pretend I am perfect. I get the urge to do a full Spring cleaning any time I am expecting a visitor.

I am going to leave the dishes in the sink and the toys on the kitchen counter.

There will be unfolded laundry in not 1 but 3 baskets.

The mail bin will continue to overflow.

The bags that need to go to the Goodwill will stay prominently displayed on the dining room floor.

My seventeen piles of books will remain.

The dusting will not be completed.

I want my neat and tidy home back. Each day I wake with a “to do” list full of chores and I am eager to attack them. I love checking items off my “to do” list. It makes me feel like I am the master of the universe.

Then my baby gives me that longing look. He opens his mouth and demands attention. He is teething and his usually mild mannered demeanor becomes a constant need for cuddles, snuggles, mommy’s milk-sicles, and all kinds of teething toys.

So each day I skip a couple of items on my “to do” list and by Friday…well, see above.

Instead of feeling anxious and canceling my plans, I will welcome my friend with enthusiasm. Because we live in our house and I am sure she lives in hers, too.